Новости за 13.09.2021

Researchers from the Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) interdisciplinary research group of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, and their local collaborators from Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), have developed the first-ever nanosensor to enable rapid testing of synthetic auxin plant hormones. The novel nanosensors are safer and less tedious... Читать дальше...

DNA is the instruction manual for every living organism, guiding the development and functioning of all biological processes. In essence, it is a molecule with a double helix structure with each unit of a helix containing what are known as "DNA bases."

Like ripples in a pond, electrons travel like waves through materials, and when they collide and interact, they can give rise to new and interesting patterns.

Bluefin tuna, a long-lived migratory species that accumulates mercury as it ages, can be used as a global barometer of the heavy metal and the risk posed to ocean life and human health, according to a study by Rutgers and other institutions.

The next generation of computing and information processing lies in the intriguing world of quantum mechanics. Quantum computers are expected to be capable of solving large, extremely complex problems that are beyond the capacity of today's most powerful supercomputers.

Most of the research concerned with hazards like flooding, landslides, or wildfires describes only one hazard at a time, but the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest assessment report states that anthropogenic climate change is increasing the likelihood of compound hazards—events where more than one hazard interact with multiplicatively destructive consequences. A recent study has found that current urbanization trends in the Himalaya are exposing more and more people to risks from increasingly destructive compound hazards.

Environmental targets to limit excess nitrogen require the large-scale deployment of dedicated nitrogen mitigation strategies to avoid a strong increase in the risk of food insecurity. Without these measures, the amount of dietary energy available to people would be greatly reduced, which would in turn lead to high food prices and an increase in the number of undernourished people.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor scientific achievements that "should first make people laugh and then make them think". The spoof prizes, first awarded by the US journal Annals of Improbable Research in 1991, have long since acquired cult status among scientists. This year's chemistry award recognizes a study that proves the connection between the air in cinemas and different age ratings. The study was carried out in cooperation between the Max Planck the connection between the air in cinemas and the age rating. Читать дальше...

An approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that is informed by the ethical theory of utilitarianism would lead to better outcomes for human development, equity, and the climate, according to a new study involving Rutgers researchers.

Rutgers researchers have discovered some of the first molecular insights into how toxic proteins are regulated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Rewilding Europe have developed a new way of evaluating rewilding progress. Its ground-breaking application across seven of Rewilding Europe's operational areas has revealed both positive impact and challenges to upscaling. The practical tool can help to inform decision-making and drive rewilding onwards and upwards. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Ecography.

Climate change in this century will allow one of the world's costliest agricultural pests, the diamondback moth, to both thrive year-round and rapidly evolve resistance to pesticides in large parts of the United States, Europe and China where it previously died each winter, according to a study by U.S. and Chinese researchers.

New research from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology has resulted in a useful genetic resource on the kuruma shrimp. These are one of the largest species of prawn (females can reach 27cm in length) and are found throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In Japan, they're considered a delicacy and have been a major fisheries and aquaculture product (especially in Okinawa) since the early 20th century. But... Читать дальше...

An enormous amount of gravity from a cluster of distant galaxies causes space to curve so much that light from them is bent and emanated our way from numerous directions. This "gravitational lensing" effect has allowed University of Copenhagen astronomers to observe the same exploding star in three different places in the heavens.

Most of the cells in our bodies—be they bone, muscle or pancreas cells—are locked into the right place with the help of tiny anchors (called 'focal adhesions'). These strong anchors use protein chains to link the cell to collagen, the protein that gives structure to our body.

A new, location-specific agricultural greenhouse gas emission study is the first to account for net carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from all subsectors related to food production and consumption. The work, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign atmospheric sciences professor Atul Jain, could help identify the primary plant- and animal-based food sectors contributing to three major greenhouse gas emissions and allow policymakers to take action to reduce emissions from the... Читать дальше...

Every winter, thousands of emaciated seabird carcasses are found on North American and European shores.

On a farm where cows freely relieve themselves as they graze, the accumulation and spread of waste often contaminates local soil and waterways. This can be controlled by confining the cows in barns, but in these close quarters their urine and feces combine to create ammonia, an indirect greenhouse gas. In an article published on September 13 in the journal Current Biology, researchers show that cows can be potty-trained, enabling waste to be collected and treated, thereby cleaning up the barn, reducing air pollution... Читать дальше...

Cells have small compartments known as organelles that perform complex biochemical reactions. These compartments have multiple enzymes that work together to execute important cellular functions. Researchers at the Center for Soft and Living Matter within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS, South Korea) have successfully mimicked these nano-scale spatial compartments to create "artificial mitochondria." The study is published in Nature Catalysis as a cover article. The researchers state that the... Читать дальше...

Deep space is most likely going to be humanity's final frontier, and space travel will undoubtedly become much more common in the future. However, space is a very hostile environment not only because of the technical difficulties that entail going there, but also because of the detrimental effects that constant microgravity has on the human body. Some examples of these are bone loss, muscle atrophy, and liver and kidney problems, as well as space motion sickness.

Rochester Institute of Technology scientists have uncovered new information about the way coronavirus and several of its variants attach to human cells. A study recently published in the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics reveals the findings.

Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have uncovered a unique mechanism where two transcription factors stabilize each other's binding to DNA in fission yeast. They found that Atf1 and Rst2 help each other stably bind when they were close enough together. They both help transcribe a gene that deals with glucose poor environments but belong to entirely independent activation pathways. New insights like these can help scientists in the fight against cancer.

When listening to music, we don't just hear the notes produced by the instruments, we are also immersed in its echoes from our surroundings. Sound waves bounce back off the walls and objects around us, forming a characteristic sound effect—a specific acoustic field. This explains why the same piece of music sounds different when played in an old church or a modern concrete building.

The rocks it has analyzed for sample collection are helping the team better understand a past marked by volcanic activity and water.

The best kind of chocolate is creamy, smooth and melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Now University of Guelph food scientists say they have found a way to create that perfect chocolate that simplifies the traditional "tempering" process of repeatedly heating and cooling chocolate.